Agree we need uniforms which are practical, the HR arm of the police force in conjunction with the police association should be able to easily resolve. A consequence of the belt is how it destroys the upholstery of a police car.

On a related note has anyone notice how the Attorney General is starting to change his tune on crime?

Hopefully, one day the powers that be will realize that this is no longer the 1970s and get with the program. I see Police riding bikes and segways in red stripe pants and uniformed hot grey shirts…

I see some Police choose to burden their backs with their equipment, handcuffs, radio, gun, baton, and others with empty belts. I have asked some of them sometimes, how come they don’t carry the equipment. They said just like the original poster said, that its to heavy and to wear it for eight hours on foot patrol or other duty is far more detrimental to them. So they rely on their cellular phone to call for help if anything.

Don’t let’s get started about the hat. Firstly we’ve seen recently that alot of burglaries are/were being committed in the city by people breaking in through the roof. When police are on duty at night with that stupid cap on, it cuts off 50% of their peripheral vision, so unless they are always walking with their head staring straight up into the sky, they cannot catch movement on rooftops by peripheral vision. But who cares if they do not see cat burglars on roofs once they look good when some senior officer passes them, after all the role of the police is to look good not solve cri- oh wait…i got mixed up.

I agree what they wear must look professional. But they can have a professional uniform, suitable to the climate and equipment. All a matter of fabric and design. Looking online at various sites which make uniforms, I’ve easily seen ideas to enhance to the look of the uniform while keeping its colors…so many things can be done. Just need a team of people.

A man who works on the ground, a senior person(for posterity lol), a designer etc…hash out a number of designs submit them for approval, and let them members of the force vote on them.

I just can’t imagine an officer assigned to beach patrol feeling all chirpy and happy having to go to work each morning and ride a bicycle in those hot pants…I’d park it under the shade each day…oh wait yeah that happens already.

A little comfort and morale goes a long way. Especially when your remuneration is already bad.

Great post. Let’s have a design competition inviting the young fashion designers in our midst to submit designs for the new Police wear. By the way who was it that decided that secondary school boys (1st to 3rd form) should wear white shirts as uniform? Certainly NOT a man!

All very good points, but the most salient point is the fact that our policemen and women are grossly underpaid, and I think, exploited by their employer. Therefore I don’t think that the uniform can be close to the main reason why young men won’t join the force. Having said that, it is quite clearly ridiculous that police on beach patrol should have to wear the regular uniform. Shorts, polo shirts, running shoes and baseball cap should be “de rigeur” for the beach. Then they can at least try and catch those barefoot vagabonds when they’re running away.

We need to put it on facebook design a new uniform competition!
bearing in mind present police colors and national colors!

What a load of crap implying that the low recruitment in the RBPF could be linked to the uniform. People join discipline organisations for two reasons, (a) they are conscripted and therefore have no choice or (b) they see it as a calling,just like doctors , nurses or priests. I recall the first time I was issued with uniform when I joined the Barbados Regiment,I tried on a shirt and went back to the stores stating that is was too big,whereupon the no -nonsense RSM “Hank” Hinkson reminded me quite crudely that the Regiment does not provide a uniform to fit me, its up to me to fit the uniform. Any person who shies away from joining an organisation because of the cut or quality of the uniform is not really meant for that organisation. I have worn uniforms of all types, some of which were more suited to the harsh conditions of a Siberian winter,moreso than the relatively mild temperatures of the UK and continental theatres that I was posted.
Funny how we never hear the prisoners at Glendairy / Dodds complaining of the uniforms they are issued, and many keep returning to don them.Up there there are no shortage of recruits.
The RBPF seems to be attracting more female recruits than male, we are not hearing any complaints from them, and we all know how fashion conscious our women are. This tells a lot about our men,sooner or later the feminism was sure to rub off on them.
Stop pandering to those who find excuse after excuse not to do something.

@ Colonel Buggy,

and that is the kind of mentality which will always hinder progress… the good old ‘in my day’. If you think its gonna fly these days then by all means. Wait and see what’s left of this country in seventy five years and the road we go down as the police force drops from 200 vacancies, to 300 to 400, 500, 1000.

And then keep telling people to fit themselves to the uniform and not the uniform to them.

Police isn’t military. Military are trained for one reason/purpose. I defend or attack. And these goals are achieved by killing the enemy and that is what it comes down too. Police doesn’t involve killing except in the course of self defense.

But tell RSM Hinkson I said hi, or did he die like 30 years ago? Are you enjoying retirement and looking forward to memorial day?

The Commissioner of Police and the decision makers in the Police Force will probably respond just like Colonel Buggy did. Can the Force make that decision anyway or would it have to come from higher up?

The simple truth is that many of our young men are simply cowards, who do not want to put themselves in any danger, preferring to sit behind a tray selling ackees and coconuts, while our frail looking women take over the baton.

@ The Colonel:
“The simple truth is that many of our young men are simply cowards, who do not want to put themselves in any danger, preferring to sit behind a tray selling ackees and coconuts, while our frail looking women take over the baton.”
What went wrong, then? Which generation of men failed to pass on the baton? Should the blame be laid at the door steps of those who introduced dual gender education at the Secondary level- the most hormone- active stage of human development. The last point is subject to debate and not necessarily a personal view; just a possible causal factor to be explored).

Barbados is faced with a real or potential crime-wave, depending on your point of view.
We are told the Force is understrength and is unable to recruit enough officers. I believe that we need to find a way to recruit in order to stand any chance of stopping the crime problems from running away from us.
Increasing police pay has to be the main way to solve the problem.
The other factor which is apparently seriously affecting recruitment is the ban on recruiting people who test positive for drugs. While this seems unchallengeable on the face of it, I wonder if there is a way to address this. What about giving notice to the potential recruits of when they will be first tested and giving them information about how long drugs stay in the system?
Anyone who then fails does not deserve to be in the police.
Couple this with a ramped-up random drug testing regime for serving officers; one which focuses more on new officers than long serving ones with any new officer testing positive being kicked out immediately
You could say this is soft, and it may well not work but we need to think creatively.

Aren’t we worried that crime is escalating in the region?

Against such a situation the Commissioner and AG strategy is to retreat to comparative regional stats.

Is this how we are going to manage going forward; by benchmarking?

Buggy don’t forget that we discussing this are the older folks probably over eligble recruitment age.

Its the young people who need to like it. I have absolutely no problem with someone being attracted to the image of the force and joining for a trivial reason and then finding their true calling and coming to love the job.

As I said people join or think about it for different reasons. You have to look at the whole package. If you went rto buy a car and the inside was spick and span but the outside was god awful would you not be put off?

Again if the police force wore pink uniforms with capes and tights you think people would want to become a police? They’d say to themselves I’d like to try the job but no way I am wearing that thingg.

Potential recruits are thinking of where they might end up, you think they want to end up on the beach or the board walk in that uniform?

As I said I polled a lot of youngsters and these were the concerns they raised, and to get around the issues of uniform, they want to go to specialist departments such as the task force on joining and that can’t happen.

The Cadet Corps has served Barbados well since its formation in 1904,and has become a ready and dependable pool of which the Defence Force can draw it resources from. Maybe to stem the tide of waning recruits, the RBPF should look at establishing a Police Cadet Corps in secondary schools, where the emphasis is on Police and legal matters as opposed to military.By the time these cadet leave school, they should be ready,if they so wish, to become full fledged members of the force, without even having to attend the basic police training course at the RPTC,as they would have covered these subjects ,including drill, during their years as cadets.
A Police Cadet Corps in secondary schools, may also go a long way in addressing some of the indiscipline and problems that we have been experiencing in the schools, on the buses and on the streets involving students.

Yes – Colonel Buggy’s suggestion deserves consideration. We can’t keep doing things as they have always been done and expect different results.